Crimes to look out for when you go to a World Series game

The Dodgers are taking a swing at a World Series Championship for a second year in a row. They won at home Friday night in the longest postseason game in baseball history. Then lost on Saturday, which puts them down 3 – 1 in the seven game series against the Boston Red Sox. They’ll take the field again tonight at Dodger Stadium, located just north of downtown in the neighborhood of Elysian Park.

The area has a population of just 2,000. Most crimes that happen in Elysian Park happen on game days when thousands more people enter the small neighborhood.

However, World Series games draw even larger and rowdier crowds, so we looked into last year’s crime data from home games at Dodger Stadium.

In the 2017 World Series, the Dodgers faced the Houston Astros four times at home from October 24 to November 1, 2017. Within that week, 19 crimes were reported in Elysian Park. That’s the equivalent of an average month of crime in Elysian Park, but in a single week.

The top crime in Elysian Park during last year’s World Series was simple assault, which is an unlawful attack on another person that doesn’t involve weapons or serious injuries, according to the LAPD Crime Statistics Glossary. A single punch, for example. There were also multiple counts of petty theft and two counts of simple assault that specifically involved intimate partners.

So far, there have been on average about 20 crimes per month reported this year in Elysian Park. As you might expect, the months with the lowest numbers of reported crimes are the first two and last two months of the year, during Major League Baseball’s off season, when Dodger Stadium is quiet.

These are the top three so far this year.

Source: LAPD Criminal Database

As for the Dodgers players, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is working with them to make sure their homes are protected during the Series. Last year, outfielder Yasiel Puig’s home was targeted by burglars during Game 7.

Police officers patrolling the area will also be enforcing the “no tolerance policy for drinking in public or in the parks,” according to an LAPD statement. Also: “Dodger fans are reminded that there is no Tailgating in Dodger Stadium.”

If you’re heading to a game and need to contact Dodger Stadium security, call, 323-224-2611 or text a message to 69050 using the keyword LADFAN.